FORT COLLINS — Larry Eustachy drinks can after can. Can't stop. In his office here, 19 cans sit in his mini-fridge. His garbage bin at home is a graveyard of past pounding. "I've always liked Diet Coke, but not to this extent," said Eustachy, the Colorado State men's basketball coach. "It's way over the top. I mean, like 15 a day. ... It's addicting. I have to have them....

"Upon ingestion, aspartame breaks down into residual components, including aspartic acid, phenylalanine, methanol,[26] in ratio of 4:5:1 by mass[27] and further breakdown products including formaldehyde[28] and formic acid, accumulation of the latter being suspected as the major cause of injury in methanol poisoning. Human studies show that formic acid is excreted faster than it is formed after ingestion of aspartate."

(Formic acid is the irritant in ant venom, btw)

Some researchers classify Aspartame as a Neurotoxin, and many people have had severe reactions to it, which disappear when they stop ingesting it.

In moderation, it's probably harmless. 15 cans a day? You're playing with fire.